Global| Sep 05 2012U.S. Productivity Growth Is Revised Up<
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Workers produced more for their effort in Q2'12 than estimated last month. Nonfarm business sector productivity for last quarter was revised up to 2.2% (1.2% y/y) from last month's estimate of a 1.6% gain. However, since growth in [...]
Workers produced more for their effort in Q2'12 than estimated last month. Nonfarm business sector productivity for last quarter was revised up to 2.2% (1.2% y/y) from last month's estimate of a 1.6% gain. However, since growth in compensation also was revised up to 3.7% (2.2% y/y) from 3.3%, the rise in unit labor costs was lessened just slightly to 1.5% (0.9% y/y) from 1.7%. In the factory sector productivity growth was little-changed at a minimal 0.1% (2.9% y/y), but compensation growth was raised to 0.9% (0.4% y/y). As a result, growth in unit labor costs was raised to 0.8% (-2.4% y/y) from 0.3%.
The productivity & cost figures are available in Haver's USECON database.
| Productivity & Costs (SAAR,%) | Q2'12 (Revised) | Q2'12 | Q1'12 | Q4'11 | Q2 Y/Y | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nonfarm Business Sector | ||||||||
| Output per Hour (Productivity) | 2.2 | 1.6 | -0.5 | 2.8 | 1.2 | 0.7 | 3.1 | 2.9 |
| Compensation per Hour | 3.7 | 3.3 | 5.1 | -0.7 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 2.0 | 1.4 |
| Unit Labor Costs | 1.5 | 1.7 | 5.6 | -3.3 | 0.9 | 2.0 | -1.0 | -1.5 |
| Manufacturing Sector | ||||||||
| Output per Hour | 0.1 | 0.2 | 5.5 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 2.5 | 6.4 | 0.1 |
| Compensation per Hour | 0.9 | 0.5 | 6.7 | -6.0 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 1.1 | 4.1 |
| Unit Labor Costs | 0.8 | 0.3 | 1.2 | -6.6 | -2.4 | 0.1 | -5.0 | 4.0 |
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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